The Long Con

by Ji Y. Son

Some sentences hold you captive. Some set you free.

Inspired by a real-life story that seemed too improbable to be true, The Long Con is a tender, witty, and quietly devastating love story told through letters, longing, and literary references… with a strong side of sarcasm.

When Minjee, a Korean-American adoptee and UCLA college student, signs up for a prison pen pal project, she’s not even sure the US Postal Service actually works. But her letter finds James, a Korean man serving time in a federal facility, with a past he doesn’t talk about and a mind that’s dangerously good at systems.

What begins in skepticism turns into teasing banter, then deepens into something connection. Confession. Intimacy. Through handwritten letters and carefully measured honesty, two people begin to rewrite the doubts they’ve carried, the stories they’ve lived, and the desires they never thought they’d write down in cursive.

Set between Westwood and Lompoc, the US and South Korea, the past and whatever comes next, The Long Con is a slow-burn epistolary romance about intimacy at a distance, identity in tension, and the long, improbable path toward something real.

For fans of slow-burn romance, sharp banter, so much sexual tension, literary Easter eggs, and love stories that last across time, distance, and the American legal system.

“I want it. Bad.” - actual quote from a reader waiting for Part Two (now included in this book!)

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2025

About the author

Ji Y. Son is a cognitive scientist and tenured professor at Cal State LA who inexplicably wrote a romance novel. It is, to date, her only work of fiction: self-published, slow-burn, and surprisingly tender given her background in statistics and data science education.

She normally writes things like multi-million dollar grant proposals and textbooks on data science, which have many reluctant mandatory readers. Those don’t usually make people cry. Well, not because they’re emotionally moved.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two sarcastic teens, and a tortoise who will outlive them all. Her favorite social network is LinkedIn. Seriously.

Reviews

[Audrey Lamborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the banter of the characters. Such a fun read and interesting story! Even crazier that it’s based on a real story! Great summer read (or anytime!).

[Jinna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahh! So good! Maybe it’s because I can relate to so many parts of this as a Korean American UCLA alum who knew almost all these references but it totally captured my heart. And also maybe it’s because I’m watching Kpop Demon Hunters or because the authors picture is a cute cartoon, but I also pictured this in semi-animated form.

A somehow cute and nerdy romance that captured my heart completely! And wilder still are the parts of this crazy story that are true! I hope one day the real couple finds the author and allows that picture to be shared.

[Dave Kitani · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved the meta format that reproduces the lost art of letter writing...what is actually written, what is not as well as the inner response and commentary, the savoring, the anticipation of a response...a fun page turner. like a good asian drama i appreciated that everything physical isn't given away so quickly. and i disagree that the ending was abrupt but rather saw it as a more artful way of bringing past and present together.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband preordered this for me because it sounded just like what I normally like. There was definitely some grade-A pining, and the banter was fun. I liked the humanizing of felons and the bit of attention given to adoptee trauma. But the ending was very abrupt and a little weird, and unfortunately I could tell that her editor was ChatGPT even before the acknowledgements. Overall a solid "liked it."

[Erin Devers]

I love all the witty banter and literary references! Such a fun book and amazing to think it is based on a true story!! Anyone who loves fast-talking Gilmore Girl style writing will love this book!!

[Lizette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really related to the characters and was so invested in their love story! Perfect book to read on the airplane.

[Genesis Samano · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a must read, had me laughing and crying. Couldn’t put the book down.